Russian military experts in Syria are expanding air bases and runways

Syrian
President al-Assad and Russian President Putin prepare to make a
statement after the signing ceremony in the
Kremlin.REUTERS/Sergei
Chirikov

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Russian military experts who arrived in Syria
weeks ago have been inspecting air bases and working to enlarge
some runways, particularly in the north, though Moscow had yet to
meet a Syrian request for attack helicopters, a Lebanese
newspaper reported.

As-Safir, citing a Syrian source, said on Monday there had been
"no fundamental change" in Russian forces on the ground in Syria,
saying they were "still operating in the framework of experts,
advisers, and trainers".

Secretary of State John Kerry told his Russian counterpart on
Saturday the United States was deeply concerned about reports
that Moscow was moving toward a major military build-up in Syria
widely seen as aimed at bolstering President Bashar al-Assad.

Russia has been a vital ally for Assad throughout the war that is
estimated to have killed a quarter of a million people and
fractured Syria into a patchwork of areas controlled by rival
armed groups, including Islamic State, and the government.

As-Safir said the Russians had "started moving towards a
qualitative initiative in the armament relationship for the first
time since the start of the war on Syria, with a team of Russian
experts beginning to inspect Syrian military airports weeks ago,
and they are working to expand some of their runways,
particularly in the north of Syria."

The newspaper, which is well-connected in Damascus, added that
nothing had been decided on "the nature of the weapons that
Damascus might receive, though the Syrians asked to be supplied
with more than 20 Russian attack helicopters, of the Mi-28 type".

Russian
servicemen watch Mi-28 military helicopters of the Berkuti
(Golden Eagles) aerobatic team fly during the opening of the
Army-2015 international military forum in Kubinka, outside
Moscow, Russia, June 16, 2015.REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

The Syrian government, whose alliance with Moscow dates to the
Cold War, has lost control of much of northern Syria to groups
including Islamic State. The United States, already leading a
coalition in a bombing campaign against Islamic State in Syria,
is planning with Turkey to open a new front against the jihadist
group in northern Syria near the Turkish border.

The United States and governments including Saudi Arabia and
Turkey want to see Assad, also an ally of Iran, gone from power.

A Syrian military official declined to comment on the details of
As-Safir report. The official however reiterated previous
comments that the Russian-Syrian military relations had witnessed
a big shift in recent weeks.

The official said the Russian shift was prompted by the danger
represented by Islamic State and other groups fighting the Syrian
state.

REUTERS

"It is obvious that the Russians will be more resolute in dealing
with this situation. This forms a danger to the allies of
Russia," the official said.

A senior U.S. official told Reuters on Saturday that U.S.
authorities have detected "worrisome preparatory steps,"
including transport of prefabricated housing units for hundreds
of people to a Syrian airfield, that could signal that Russia is
readying deployment of heavy military assets there.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Moscow's
exact intentions remained unclear but that Kerry called Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to leave no doubt about the U.S.
position.

(Editing by Janet McBride)

Read the original article on Reuters. Copyright 2015. Follow Reuters on Twitter.